1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of program guides for the presentation of channel and program information. More particularly, the present invention relates to a client terminal for displaying program guide information associated with different programs within a pop-up.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Television signals are broadcasted on the airwaves, through cables, and via satellite. The number of stations accessible today has increased to hundreds of stations. To select a program to view, many viewers simply “channel surf” until they find a channel that has a desirable program, which is a tedious and laborious process. Channel surfing refers to the process of using the channel “+” or “−” key of a remote control to sequentially view each channel. Although some viewers find channel surfing among hundreds of stations enjoyable, most viewers prefer a more direct method for selecting a program to view.
Accordingly, on-screen program guides have been devised that display a listing of the channels, typically in numerical order, and the titles of the programs being broadcasted or to be broadcasted on the channels. These existing on-screen program guides typically show the user the list of channels and corresponding programs in a fixed grid format that scrolls (automatically or manually) in a vertical direction across the screen for a fixed interval of time displayed in a horizontal direction across the screen. The user of the on-screen program guide may then select the channel by entering in the channel number or selecting a program. The system responds by removing the on-screen program guide being displayed and tuning to the station selected and displaying the program.
Some existing fixed grid format on-screen program guides, as previously described, further allow the user to select a channel and program to display additional program guide information regarding the selected program. After viewing this additional program guide information, the user can select the program for viewing or return to the grid-based on-screen program guide. Unfortunately, these existing on-screen program guides do not allow a user to easily navigate through program guide information for other programs showing at different times on the selected channel.
There is, therefore, a need to provide techniques for allowing a user to easily navigate through program guide information for different programs showing at different times on a selected channel.